Syria, rebels blame each other for alleged poison gas attack

DAMASCUS: Both sides in the Syrian civil war blamed each other for a reported poison gas attack in the central province of Hama.
Pro-opposition accounts of heavy fighting Saturday between Syrian and rebel groups reported a chemical strike in the agricultural village of Kfar Zeita, north of the provincial capital, Hama. State-run television claimed the rebel faction Al Nusra Front, which is aligned with al-Qaida, unleashed toxic gas in the village.

State television said two people were killed and over 100 injured.

Reports of chemical gas deployment in the three-year war are regularly alleged by both sides, and chemical warfare reports have become a part of the propaganda efforts of both sides. The inaccessibility of battlefields to journalists makes it difficult to corroborate statements or obtain evidence.

The most notorious incident occurred Aug. 21, 2013, when hundreds of people, a United Nations investigation concluded, died when a chemical nerve agent was released in a Damascus suburb.